Bathing-hat



J. B.\ BALLARD'. BATHING'HAT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29.1917- RENEWED DEC. 2591919.

Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

\\\\\\\\H "I H! In ventor: b 12112633 fiallard,

JJW

his A tty rnn srn'rns PATENT onr on.

JAMES. B. ennnanyor PBQVIDENCE,-RHODE IsLAND. Assienon o Ravens RUBBER co vrreny, A CORPORATION or nnonn ISLAND.

BATl-IING-HAT.

essence. I

Specification of Iietters Patent. Patented. 10, 1920.

Application filed September 29, 1917,.Seria1 No. 193,830. Renewed December 26, 1919. Serial No. 347,595.

To all whomz'tmay' concern: 1

Be it knownqthat 1, JAMES B. BALLAno, a citizen of. the United States, residing at Providence, countyof Providence, and State of Rhode Island, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Bathing-Hats, of whichlthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention'relates to bathing hats.

In hats used for bathing andzbeach purposes it is desirable to have a broad brim adapted to project away from thecrown in such a manner as to adequately protect the head of the wearer from the rays of the sun. Thefront portion of such a brim serves as a shield for the eyes andnormally lies in such a plane, as to partially limit the view of the wearer. At times, as when the sun. is notbright, it isdesirable to have an unobstructed view in which case the front portion :of the brim must permit of adjustment with relation to the other portions thereof so that it may be flexed to a position removed from the range of view of the wearer. An object of the present invention accordingly is to provide a waterproof hat embodying a flexible brim having a front portion that may be flexed from one position where it normally serves as a shield for the eyes to an adjusted position affording the wearer a substantially unobstructed View,

said front portion being adapted by reason of the elastic properties thereof to spring back to its original form and position upon being released from its adjusted position.

Other objects of the invention will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hat embodying my invention, the front of the brim being shown in its adjusted position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hat illustrated in Fig. 1, the brim being shown in its normal position.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate similar parts, 10 designates the crown of a hat to which is secured a disk-like brim 11. The brim and crown are both preferably made of some form of thin, elastic, waterproof 1 material, such, for example, as sheet rubber or rubberized fabric.

The ,crown of the hat is preferably made collapsible and is adapted to receive the head of the wearer and readily accommodate itself to the conformation thereof... The v lower portion of the crown isconstricted, in the present instance, by means of 'plaits 12, to such a size that'it must be stretched in order to receive the head of the wearer, which construction provides a snug fit that effectively prevents water fromworking up under the crown and wetting thehair of the bather.

The brim of the hat extends outwardly from and completely around the crown and is held in such position by means of a resilient wire ring 18 interposedbetween the two plies-of material lt which constitute the outer margin of the brim. This form of construction provides a brim whichmay be freely flexed at: any point without-injury, the flexed portion thereof being adapted to spring back to its original shape and ,position immediately upon release from. the flexed position. The. resilient ringserves to maintain the brim in a stretched or taut condition both when the brim is in its original or adjusted positions due to the elasticity of the brim and the stretch under which it is placed when the metal ring 14 is built into it. Y 7

When the hat is worn the brim extends outwardly from the head of the wearer in a manner to afford adequate protection from the rays of the sun, and the front portion thereof which projects out above the eyes normally lies in such a plane as to partially restrict the view of the wearer. When it is desired to obtain an unobstructed view this portion of the brim may be flexed upwardly to an adjusted position removed from the wearers range of view.

In order to detachably secure the front portion of the brim in its adjusted position a snap fastener is provided. is of usual construction, and comprises the two members 15 and 16 permanently attached respectively to the front of the brim near the edge thereof and to the crown at a point near the top thereof. The two members of the fastener are adapted to snap together underpressure, to hold the front of the brim in its adjusted position.

It is obvious that various other types of fasteners may be employed if desired and I that the resilient supporting ring for the The fastener ferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes in form, materials, arrangement, design and construction may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to have pr0 tected by Letters Patent is 1. A bathing hat comprising a collapsible waterproof crown having a constricted elastic lower portion, an adjustable brim secured to said constricted portion embodying a sheet of thin rubber having an outer portion composed of a plurality of plies, a

resilient ring interposed between said plies supporting and maintaining said brim in a stretched condition in either its original or adjusted position, a portion of said brim being adapted to be turned upwardly and held toward the crown and to spring back to its original position when released, and

means for detachably securing said upwardly turned portion of the brim to the crown.

2. A bathing hat comprising a sheet rubber crown having an expansible plaited elastic lower portion, an adjustable brim secured to said lower portion embodying a sheet of thin rubber having an outer margin composed of a plurality of plies, a resilient ring interposed between said plies support ing and maintaining said brim in a stretched condition in either its original or adjusted position, a portion of said brim being adapted to be turned upwardly and held toward the crown and to spring back to its original position when released, and means for detachably securing said upwardly turned portion of the brim .to the crown.

3. A bathing hat comprising a sheet rubber crown having an' expansible plaited elastic lower portion, an adjustable brim se cured to said lower portion embodying a sheet of thin rubber, said brim having an inner portion of a single thickness of material and an outer marginal portion composed of a plurality of plies of material, a resilient ring interposed between said plies, said ring supporting and maintaining said brim in a stretched condition in either its original or adjusted position, a portion of said brim being adapted to be turned'upwardly and held toward the'crown and to spring back to its original position when released, and means for detachably securing said upwardly turned portion of the brim to the crown.

Signed at Providence Rhode Island this 26th day-of Sept. 1917 JAMES B; BALLARD. 

